Chapter 1: The desolation of Goenitz
Disclaimer (No. No! NO! Not the disclaimer again! AGH!): I, Grey Rayne, do not own anything, whether it be items, characters, place names or anything within The King of Fighter's universe. I do own a few miscellaneous characters within this story, but they may be used freely by all.
King of Fighters is a trademark of SNK Playmore.
Goenitz threw a metal chalice across the large hall. It bounced off the head of one of his servants with expert precision, the servant then hurriedly caught it before it clattered to the ground. He bowed before leaving the hall. Goenitz frowned even deeper, he was extremely frustrated and angry. Mostly angry though. After his defeat at the hands of Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, Goenitz had been punished by Orochi. It wasn't anything too serious though; Goenitz was relegated to his heavenly halls for as long as Orochi thought necessary, which was frustrating because what he really wanted to do was get revenge!
"Curse the Kusanagi and Yagami names!" he roared, his voice echoing in the barren stone hall. The only item of furniture in this room was a throne, the rest of it had been removed by Orochi for an extra punishment. He leaned against the arm of his throne and rested his head in his palm, he had been in this room for years, just sitting or walking around with nothing to do. This made him hate Kyo and Iori with renewed vigour, and he constantly envisioned the moment when he would kill them and then offer up their heads to his lord, to adorn his halls as a trophy for all to see. A new scheme fluttered across his mind, and he smiled. He knew he could not leave this hall to seek revenge himself. However, his lord had said nothing about him setting others to do his work. Who would hate Kyo and Iori as much as him? Goenitz's mind went through a list of possible candidates, before settling for one. He frowned though, he should send someone else too, just in case. His mind fell upon the perfect choice, someone who would hate Iori enough to seek bloody revenge, and plus, there was a link between his choices. Now, all Goenitz had to do was build up the power required to accomplish his task, he knew it wouldn't be easy, so he decided that the other heavenly kings would be required. He focused his thoughts, searching mentally for his younger counterparts. There!
Shermie's thoughts were interrupted by the sense of a familiar presence watching her. She stood up and listened to something only she could hear, before she brushed herself off quickly. She threw her hands above her head, palms to the sky, and a crack of thunder struck the spot where she had just occupied.
Yashiro spun his arm around again, his guitar blaring out a violent chord which would break glass in the physical world. He head-banged slightly as the ear-destroying sounds blared forth from the guitar. He was so engrossed that he didn't immediately perceive a presence enter the room. He jammed along, completely oblivious, until a harsh voice, loud enough to be heard in his mind even above the incessant din, screamed at him. His guitar clattered to the ground and he held his hands over his ears in defence.
"Ah, not so loud!" he hissed viciously. He then froze solid, his face becoming stoic as he recognised the voice. He listened for a moment and then nodded his head silently. He looked down longingly at his beloved guitar, before throwing out his arms to his sides and disappearing.
Chris laughed as he bashed the buttons on his playstation 2 controller. The words 'Shang Tsung wins. Flawless victory' could be heard from the tv. Chris smiled and reached forward to reset. He froze solid in his movements as a voice echoed in his head. Chris frowned and then let out a sigh. He switched off the playstation 2 and stood a few feet away from it. He spun around on his heel and purple flames spiralled up from the ground. Chris vanished.
Goenitz sat back in his throne and sneered in satisfaction. Shortly after, a bolt of lightning, followed by 3 others, struck the ground. Shermie appeared in between these, kneeling down. She stood up and stretched her arms above her head, before checking that her hair was in order. Yashiro seemed suddenly to sprout forth from the earth not far away from her. He grinned as soon as he caught sight of her. A spiral of purple flame made them all turn their heads as Chris arrived in style. Although the bored look on his face told the whole story: he wasn't glad to be here. He brightened up as he saw Yashiro and Shermie, but his face fell as he saw Goenitz.
It still made Goenitz wonder why, when he was defeated and returned to the realm of the Orochi he had retained his personality, whilst the other three had reverted back into the rock and role rejects they had been, whilst maintaining the Orochi power. 'They'll have to do.' He thought to himself as he surveyed them. They wore the same outfit as him, apart from Shermie, who opted for a short skirt instead of trousers and a more revealing variation of the standard top. No-one complained.
"Why have you summoned us, Goenitz?" Shermie said, uncharacteristically serious. Chris and Yashiro looked serious also. Goenitz had already prepared the speech that would make them willingly help him.
"Ah, my friends!" he said jovially, they didn't seem to respond though, so he continued. "I have a plan, but I need your help to execute it. Do you remember the red haired man who stole some of your spotlight?" They nodded mutely, a scowl spreading across Yashiro's face. "Well, he is also the man who helped to foil my plans in the first place. I was planning to get revenge on him, and that Kusanagi!" He spat the word 'Kusanagi' as if it was a putrid disease. Goenitz stood up and walked towards them, their attention fully riveted on him. "You see, I'm stuck here, but that doesn't mean that I can't still shake things up in the mortal realm." He put his arms around both shermie and Yashiro's shoulders and pulled them round a circle as if they were old buddies, with Chris opposite him. "This is my plan." He began to whisper, their eyes widening as he lay out his plan to them. Chris was the first to speak up.
"Y-yeah, but aren't they...?"
"Yes, but that's the beauty of it!" Goenitz cut him off in triumph. "Who would suspect it? Certainly not that oath Kyo. And Iori is too busy moping around and acting all mysterious and broody to see past his own bullshit!"
"I remind you, we have a kid here." Shermie scolded. Goenitz looked down at Chris, who rolled his eyes.
"I'm sure he's heard it all before." Goenitz muttered.
"It's ok for us to talk about all this, but can we actually do it? I mean, it's really deep stuff, man!" Yashiro said uncertainly.
"Of course we can!" Goenitz practically shouted. "We're the Heavenly Kings of Orochi, to us this is mere child's play." He looked at their uncertain faces, feeling his plan falling quickly down the tubes, he grabbed for a straw. Goenitz took a step away from them, his face suddenly grave. He held his hand out in front of himself, his palm facing upwards. A small tornado appeared on his palm and blew slightly at their clothes. "Power over air and wind." He said darkly. The other three stiffened, knowing exactly what he was doing. Goenitz's eyes looked sideways at Yashiro, who hesitated. Yashiro hesitantly held out his palm in a similar way to Goenitz, except the ground beneath them all seamed to shudder slightly.
"Power over the earth itself." he muttered. They both looked then at Shermie, who didn't hesitate. She held out her palm, lightning surged out of her randomly, stabbing at the ground around her.
"Power over the stormy sky." She said without pause. They all turned to Chris, who had a horrified expression on his face. He slowly held out his shaking hand, a purple flame illuminated his features.
"Power over the flame of death." he said quietly. The room went dark and all of their powers suddenly leapt into the space between them, mixing together in a torrent of power. As it subsided, Orochi himself stood up out of the chaos.
"Minions, you have summoned me..." he said, eying them all in turn, last of all Goenitz, who met his gaze levelly. "Ah, Goenitz, I assume this was of your making?" he said with an evil grin. Goenitz didn't reply, but nodded slightly. "Why, then, have you summoned me?"
"I have a question for you, my lord, to put the minds of my fellow Kings at ease." He said carefully. Orochi waited for him to continue. "Do we, the Heavenly Kings, have power over life and death?" he asked, as if he knew the answer already, but wanted it to be verified. Orochi laughed suddenly.
"Yes, my humble minion, together you may influence life and death. However, I would like to know exactly what it is you are planning." Goenitz scowled and turned away.
"Revenge, my lord, and hopefully something that will bring me back into your favour, for it concerns Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami." Orochi raised an eyebrow in interest.
"I will watch..." Orochi said sullenly as he slowly walked out of the circle they had made and sat in Goenitz's throne, much to Goenitz's secret annoyance. Goenitz turned back to the other Heavenly Kings, who had been staring at Orochi the whole time.
"So, who's with me?" he asked them. They looked at each other for a short while.
"I am." Yashiro said adamantly. Shermie nodded grimly and Chris sighed but muttered a quick 'yes.'
"Now, we lock hands and concentrate!" Goenitz ordered. They all locked hands in a circle and concentrated, until...
"Uh, concentrate on what?" Shermie suddenly said, mimicking the thoughts of Chris and Yashiro. Goenitz's hands dropped and his face became the very picture of frustrated fury.
"The names!" He roared. "Concentrate on bringing them back from whatever hell they're in!" They all nodded and locked hands again.
Orochi watched in interest, it had been a long time since he had seen a union of powers like this. The air began to tingle with static and the ground began to shake slightly under Yashiro's feet. Shermie was suddenly covered in lightning as it burst free. Chris felt himself being steeped in flames, the likes of which would burn anyone else to death instantly. Goenitz was covered in a torrent of wind suddenly. The static grew and grew as their concentration deepened almost involuntarily. Sweet beads broke from their heads and they began to feel weakened. Chris muffled a cry by keeping his jaw shut firmly. Shermie gritted her teeth against the sensation and Yashiro's fingers dug into the hands of the people at either side of him. Suddenly it all subsided at the same time and they all fell to the ground in weakened states. Yashiro's head spun.
"Did it work?" Goenitz roared as soon as he could.
"I-I think something went wrong, I'm not sure." Chris said tiredly. Goenitz turned his eyes to Orochi, who was staring at them all fixedly, leaning forward in his seat as if intrigued.
"It must have worked!" Goenitz said, as if trying to convince himself. "For a second I know I could see their minds, but then it went blank..." he muttered.
"I sensed that too, but maybe they fluttered into existence for only a moment?" Yashiro surmised. Goenitz stood for a moment, his eyes closed, but then he threw back his head.
"RAAAGGGHHHH!" he screamed in frustration and hate.
